100 Heroic Tales
by AcetoJack21
Summary: When so many people; so many warriors, so many wizards, so many nobles, are all joined together, great stories must be following. Here rests a collection of 100 tales, that occurred on the field, in the barracks, or in the bustling cities of the Askr Empire.
1. Introductions

Before he could even see again, Klein's left hand was already around his bow. He knocked two arrows and had them drawn level when he heard a familiar voice telling him to stop. Klein blinked, and finally he could see his surroundings. He was in some kind of grove, in a circle of turquoise light. In front of him were a huddle of figures, prominently a figure in white robes with a hood he did not recognize, but behind them stood a few familiar faces. "W-what?" Klein put his bow down, loosening the arrows as he did. "Roy? What happened? What…?" It was then that the Eturnian realized how shaky his legs were. He stumbled forward a bit, before collapsing into his commander's waiting grasp. The crimson haired Lord helped the man to his feet, before clapping him on his shoulder.

"It's good to see you again, Klein." Roy smiled at the new arrival. "Although, I guess you only saw me not maybe a minute before." Klein was very confused at this point. He took another moment to figure out just what was around him; General Cecelia, Shanna, and Fir were all a few feet away, smiling and coming towards him. They all greeted him like old friends who hadn't seen him in forever, the way Roy had. Beyond them, the hooded person he had seen before was walking away, but stopped for a minute to talk with another ivory clad figure. The young man nodded, and started towards his direction as the person in robes kept walking away. "I'm sure this is all confusing." Roy continued, as he let the come up and get their welcomes in. Roy turned to the man walking his way with a smile. "This is Klein, Alfonse. Best shot with a bow I know."

"It'll be good to have him then. We need all the range we can get." The man named Alfonse replied. He worked his way past the women surrounding Klein and put a hand out. "I'm sure you have some questions, friend." Klein hesitated, looking around at the people around him. He had been with most of them just a moment before, on the Sacaen plains fighting Bern's allies. Now they were here, acting like they hadn't seen him in a long time. And then there was this other man, indigo hair, with strange gold adornments on his armor. Wherever he was was strange, to be sure. But he looked one more time at Roy, who looked completely at ease, totally comfortable where they were. He nodded to the Eturnian. Klein took this as the last conformation he needed, and gripped the hand extended to him. Alfonse smiled, and motioned for the blonde to follow him.

* * *

"So…I'm dead?!" Klein shouted, feeling his face draining of warmth out of shock.

"No! No." The hooded figure from before, Maxwell, responded. He held a cup of tea in his hands, poured from the same pot as Klein's, and was doing his best to explain what was happening. You would think after doing this dozens of times, he would get better at this. He looked to Shareena, then Roy for help, but both just urged him to keep going. "We…there's a theory that some of us formed as to how people come here." He took a drink of tea, and encouraged Klein to do the same. "You see…I've been here for several months now. Brought a lot of warriors like you through that portal. A lot of them don't remember what they were doing before they were brought here, but some of them do. It seems random, to be honest, but I have noticed..."

"The ones who remember can all agree on one thing." Sharena interrupted, shooting a look at Maxwell that scolded him for droning. "All of them were in the middle of fights before coming here. And they were all losing, badly. We think that when Maxwell is summoning people, he's taking them from their worlds just before…well, their stories end." She rubbed the back of her neck and looked away from Klein, knowing how stupid it all might sound. She wasn't very good at explaining this either, honestly. "So...we don't know what happens when people choose to go back, but if you don't want to stay we can't make you. It's easy enough to send people home from here."

Klein took another long drink of tea to compose himself. Dead? Dying? It was a weird feeling for sure. And what about HIS Roy? The one sitting across from him now was apparently from another version of his Elibe, one where THEIR Klein was still very alive. Maybe, he really hadn't asked this Roy. This was all so sudden. "Are...are my parents here?" He looked at Roy as he spoke. "Have they come through yet?"

"No, Lady Louise and Lord Pent have not." The young man straightened himself as he spoke, running a hand through his hair. "But you'd be surprised who has."

Klein's mind was settled. He stood up from the table, facing Maxwell and the other Lords surrounding him. "With your allowance, I will help you in your struggle." He said with a bow, quickly snapping back up. "I will stay with you, until you release me. Then, what my fate may be I don't know. But until then," He turned to the robed man, "if you could please lead me to where I'll be staying."


	2. Love

Every night, it seemed, they sat at the same corner table in the tavern. Every night, they came in laughing, wishing Telma the owner a good evening. She realized a while ago that these four would be coming in every night, sitting at the same table, and ordering the same drinks. The tall one wanted the house Stout, most nights he took a second after that, and sometimes a third. The largest of the four wanted a full bottle of red wine, neglecting the glass she brought out with it every time. The one with the white hair took rum in a glass over ice. Every night, Telma asked him if he wanted something to mix it with, and every night he declined. And the last one took his wine with whiskey in it. She had balked at the recommendation at first, but the drink was starting to become popular among the other patrons.

The four sat in their corner, like most nights, but instead of the usual brags of great deeds or recounts of today's battle, the conversation was of a different persuasion. "No, my wife is not here." Hector said, bringing the bottle down on the table with a heavy drop. "Even if she was, I'm not sure that she would still love me. I've been gone a long time."

"I don't think you have to worry about that, Hec." Robin cut in, taking a drink of his rum before continuing. "Remember, we're not technically missing anything. All this is," the tactician stopped, straining to remember the analogy he had formed months ago, "out of time I guess." Well, you can't remember anything you've said when you're in your cups. "She'll be waiting for you like nothing happened when you get back. Is she a looker, then?"

"You kidding!? She's a great beauty." Hector shouted across the table, getting a laugh out of the other two. Robin always knew how to push the Ostian just right. "Head Hunter type, too. Ike would probably like her." He added as he took another swig from the wine bottle. "You'd like her sisters, too, I think about it. If you came back with me I could really set you up."

"Forget it." Ike insisted, putting his tankard down. "I've got my own group to run back home. I don't have time for women I don't even know." He uncorked the fresh bottle of ale next to him and refilled himself. "Fact I really don't have time for women right now." He took a long drink, eyes wandering to a table across the way. There, four figures sat in the same ritual as he and his team. Titania was sitting with three other horsemen, keeping a much lower tone than they were. He and his deputy caught eyes, and smiled at each other.

"You don't need to pretend you have no feelings, Ike." Ephraim called out, calling out what the two were too deep in to notice. Ike turned sharply to look at him, and for a second Renais' king thought there would be trouble, but none of them could really stay mad at the others at this point. Ike cracked with a smile and took another drink. "I'm still waiting to see if my wife comes through one of these times." He continued, massaging his temple as he talked. His drink was heavy on the whiskey tonight and it was taking its toll. "I think I heard that one of the squadrons fought Tana some weeks ago." He took another drink before continuing to his friends, who were all listening again. "I…I miss her. I miss much about my homeland, but I miss Tana the most."

"I understand that." Hector said, putting a hand on Ephraim's shoulder. "I miss Farina. And I miss Lilina…MY Lilina." He corrected, since they had all met a Lilina in her teens. "My adorable, toddler Lilina."

Robin took another drink, before taking his turn to spill his feelings. "I miss my wife, and our Nation. If I were there as long as I've been here, it would be time for the blossoms to fall from the trees." He was staring off into the distance at this point, lost in thoughts of what he had left. The mountains, and the ocean, and his wife that would never miss him, but one he missed more than anything.

"Gentlemen," Ike cut in, having had enough of the sappy nonsense in front of him, "I'm sure your wives are wonderful. And all of them are waiting for you when you go home, I'm sure. But for now, we're here. I don't know about all of you, but to me this place is some paradise. Battles with no death, victory at all turns. And I've fought with you three long enough to know we are all of this mind." Ike held his composure when drinking better than the others and his speech making was getting better by the day. "Until we all get home, let this thought of our loved ones not hinder us, but drive our weapons into the heart of the enemy."

"For Farina, and for my daughter." Hector called, raising his bottle in the air.

"For Tana, and my homeland." Ephraim agreed, raising his cup to meet Hector's.

"Say'Ri." Robin raised his glass to join his friends.

"And my friends." Ike smiled, as they brought all their drinks together.


	3. Light

The sun rises early this time of year in the Askr Empire. Many people are still asleep, even a majority of the Order of Heroes have not even considered waking up yet. But two of the Order wake together every day, before even the sun rises. They've done so for a time now, since that first time they happened upon each other one morning, naturally before sunrise then as well. Both men put on their armor, set their weapons in place, and mount their steeds. These two have never found enemy spies on their early rides, nor wild creatures threatening the safety of villagers. At this point, however, the ride has become more about the comradery than it has duty or safety.

"So you would follow your Liege's orders, even if you knew those orders to be wrong?" Xander inquired, carrying on with what was now an hour long topic. Somehow the topic had turned from their team's performance over the weeks to this philosophical debate, not that either man minded.

"Yes. I've done it several times, in fact." Camus replied, steering his mount away from a pothole in the dirt road. "The loyalty of a soldier is, first and foremost, to his king and his nation. It is not my place to think on such matters."

"That is what I'm leading to, though. You do have a choice in the matter." Xander spoke as he waved to farmers working in their field. The two rode in silence for a while, either in anticipation or thought. Then it was Camus who pressed the questions.

"What would you know of servitude, Xander?" The prince turned with a startled, inquiring look before the general continued. "As a Prince, you make the commands servants like I must follow. You may fight with men like me, on the front lines with them as you have said before. But in regards to knowing the life of your troops…"

"Hold yourself, Camus!" Nohr's Ruler spurred his horse in front of Camus, forcing the Sable Knight's horse to heel abruptly. "You think you know what you speak of, but that is not true! You know that I am the King of my land, but you don't know what I, or my family, have gone through to get me there. And my family is beyond blood. It includes my retainers, the commanders who trust me, and yes, even the lowest soldier I think of as my own." Xander and Camus locked eyes for what felt like minutes. Though they were friends, both men were on edge like most in the Order were; away from their homes and many of the people they know and love. "And if any of those men questioned the orders I gave them, or had doubts about my planning, I would always want to hear them. Unlike my father before me." It was clear to both men that the conversation was getting too hot. They rode again in silence for a while, the sun rising in the sky higher as they went. "What do you think of Titania, Camus?"

"What of her?" The other responded, still cowed slightly by the outburst earlier. A look from Xander urged him to take the question as open. "I think she's a fierce warrior, and has potential to be a great leader among horsemen."

"Then your opinion of her isn't marred by her military record? That she left service not in death, but in paperwork?" Camus was silent, not wanting to talk himself into contradiction. "I'm not discrediting your loyalty to a liege, or a cause. However, I'm just trying to remind you that you're a person. You have the ability to choose right from wrong, regardless of who gives you the order."

This ended the conversation for the morning. The rest of the patrol was short and in silence. The two reached the walls of the city, before Camus broke the silence one final time. "Comman-...Xander. I apologize for speaking out of turn. It was wrong of me to assume, especially after the recent months."

"Camus, please. It never happened. We're moving on." Xander smiled as they dismounted. "Your former Lords were miseries. I understand your predisposition. If half my commanders had the loyalty you had, I'd feel blessed." Camus had already stabled his mount, and bent just enough at the waist for it to be taken as a bow. Xander had learned at this point iit was the closest he would get to a smile from him. "Come on, Reinhart and Titania probably waited for us to get to breakfast.

* * *

Hey everyone! thanks for ready so far. This is my attempts to get back into fanfiction writing after about a year of life commanding my attention. This is jusr me taking a list of 100 themes and going through one a day. It's all from mind to print almost directly, so there may be a lot of mistakes. I've been having a lot of fun so far, Heroes is a really great platform for this kind of 's Theme is "Dark" and I think that one's going to be a fun one to work with, too. There's certainly going to be themes I don't want to do coming up, so if you have a (one word) theme recommendation, lemme know with a message or a comment. Thanks!


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